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FSC 62
April 2014 saw the 62nd edition of FSC, held in Leeds in the United Kingdom. Katy B brought the contest to the island with her win in the preceding edition with her song "Crying for no Reason". There were 35 countries participating, three less than in the previous month, because Czech Republic, Indonesia and Macedonia withdrew from the competition. Greece celebrated their first FSC win thanks to Eleni Foureira and her song "Anemos Agapis". Austria caught the second place and France the third. Belarus and Slovenia completed the top five. The Host City The host city of this edition is Leeds, a city in West Yorkshire, England and the principal settlement in the City of Leeds metropolitan district. The City of Leeds has an estimated population of 757,700, making it the third largest city in the United Kingdom. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the Kingdom of Elmet was covered by the forest of "Loidis", the origin of the name Leeds. The name has been applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small manorial borough, in the 13th century, through several incarnations, to being the name attached to the present metropolitan borough. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a major centre for the production and trading of wool. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major industrial centre; wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing, and other industries were important. From being a compact market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century. Today Leeds is ranked as a gamma world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network and is considered the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. Leeds is served by three universities, and has one of the largest student populations in the country with over 250,000 students and has the country's fourth largest urban economy.After London, Leeds is the largest legal centre in the UK and in 2011 its financial and insurance services industry was worth £2.1 billion, the 5th largest in the UK, with over 30 national and international banks located in the city. It is the leading UK city for telephone delivered banking and related financial services, with over 30 call centres employing around 20,000 people. The Venue The host venue of FSC April 2014 is First Direct Arena, a 13,500 capacity entertainment focused arena in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It is the first in the United Kingdom to have a fan-shaped orientation. The arena officially opened its doors on 4 September 2013 with Sir Elton John playing to an audience of 12,000. Bruce Springsteen had, however, held the first concert on 24 July 2013, with an audience of 13,000. The arena's opening season in 2013 later included acts including Kaiser Chiefs and Rod Stewart. The Hosts Alesha Dixon is an English singer, dancer, rapper, model and television presenter. She found fame in the all-female R&B/garage trio Mis-Teeq; however, the trio separated in 2005 and Dixon continued pursuing her music career as a solo artist, signing to Polydor Records. Dixon began recording her debut solo album, Fired Up, in 2006, but due to poor record sales of her first two singles, "Lipstick" and "Knockdown", she was dropped from Polydor. In 2007 Dixon became a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and won. Her television exposure led to a successful comeback which included her signing to Asylum Records, an offshoot of Warner Music Group. Dixon then released a second album, entitled The Alesha Show, in 2008, which received platinum certification from BPI in the UK and spawned four singles including "The Boy Does Nothing" and "Breathe Slow", the latter of which became her highest charting single and earned her a Brit Award nomination. Matt Johnson is a Welsh television presenter and personality best known for presenting in the interactive 'Hub' on ITV's This Morning between 2010 and 2013 and for co-hosting Channel 5's OK! TV. Matt has appeared in a Celebrity edition of the game show Take Me Out and participated in ITV entertainment series Your Face Sounds Familiar. Matt supports the UK charity Mind. The Show Note: Albania recieved a 30 points reduction of their score because of non-voting The Results The Winner Eleni Foureira - Anemos Agapis: